Job Specification

Purpose of Position :

To provide technical expertise and project leadership/management for the Education Quality and
Accountability Office (EQAO) in the planning, design, implementation and management of information and
information technology (I&IT) server design and support, and integrated telecommunication network
facilities (distributed processing networks (WAN) and Local Area Networks (LAN) to ensure optimum
service and performance.

Duties / Responsibilities :

Within the Information Technology and Business Solutions Branch of the Education Quality and Accountability Office, the job requires:
1. Providing technical leadership for the design, development and maintenance of the EQAO centralized
server and network and all administrative tasks associated with their operation. Leads/conducts the
monitoring and evaluation of the server and network performance, reliability, availability, efficiency
and cost. Identifies systems/network issues, and recommends design and systems development
changes necessary to optimize the operation of the server and network. Provides senior technology
infrastructure expertise to support EQAO management, staff and clients in the access and use of
server and network applications.
2. Leading the analysis, forecasting, evaluation and demand for new technologies/tools to meet
Strategic/business needs of EQAO and to improve productivity. Leads the analysis of current and new
EQAO business systems/processes to Identify and evaluate information technology options to
support and enhance business delivery. Leads the definition of EQAO IT requirements, and leads
activities relating to the research, review, evaluation, testing and trials of new technical
hardware/software that is being considered or proposed for use In the EQAO. Develops business
cases for recommended systems and applications.
3. Leading and/or participating in decision making for the design and implementation of cost-effective
solutions compatible with the EQAO's information technology architecture network. Recommends the
most cost effective alternatives for the development/acquisition of hardware/software technology,
systems/network applications and Information technology services. Provides technological expertise
and advice to computer operations staff and application developers on the technical requirements and
capabilities of the server, networks and related applications. Provides advice on planning both ongoing
and future development of the server and network. Develops business cases for recommended
systems and applications.
4. Planning and leading major application development, enhancement and customization projects
including preparing project plans; establishing project scope, objectives, budget/staff resource
requirements, project schedule and deliverables; controlling project progress; preparing project
reports and resolving project issues.
5. Providing project and technical leadership to multi-disciplinary teams including negotiating contracts
with external vendors/consultants, assigning project responsibilities to project staff/contractors, and
providing technical direction and guidance. Provides ongoing technical leadership/guidance to unit
Technical Analysts.
6. Identifying, analyzing and resolving any potential or actual server or network technical issues to ensure that the benefits of the solutions are achieved. Leads the work of operations staff and vendors to ensure that server and network problems are resolved in a timely manner.
7. Planning, developing, implementing and providing ongoing technical oversight of Information and
Information Technology (I&IT) security for the EQAOs server, desktop and network environments,
and providing technical advice to EQAO management regarding data security procedures and
practices. Leads/conducts risk analysis across all platforms to assess security threats (i.e. to prevent
unauthorized access to EQAO data/information) and ensuring the technical effectiveness of the
EQAO's security policies and procedures. Researches, evaluates and recommends security
mechanisms to satisfy possible threats to the I&IT infrastructure. Designs, develops and establishes
suitable controls, systems, practices and procedures to prevent, detect and report data access violations; investigates and advises management on the resolution of serious unauthorized access attempts.
Leads the development and implementation of hardware/software backup procedures and
recovery plans.
8. Leading the development and revision of server and network systems documentation, operations
procedure, information packages and staff training materials for new/enhanced systems, and the
delivery of training programs for EQAO management and staff. Leads and contributes to the
preparation of technical server and network I&IT reports, site and WAN networking diagrams.
9. Acquiring and maintaining a high level of technical knowledge on current and emerging information
technologies. Provides specialist advice to the Manager, Information Technology and Business
Solutions and EQAO senior management related to Information technology trends, opportunities,
options and priorities to support improvement to the effectiveness/efficiency of EQAO business
delivery with consideration for the Impacts of changes to the current infrastructure, application
software, systems performance and client business needs. Recommends new hardware
technologies, business development techniques, software and applications for acquisition by EQAO.
10. Leading and/or participating on EQAO, ministry and inter-ministry information technology
committees and project teams

Staffing and Licencing :

N/A

Knowledge :

The job requires knowledge of:
• server and personal computer system technologies (operating systems, application software,
OPS/ministry standard/commonly used and EQAO customized software, and emerging technologies),
and network and telecommunication technologies to provide technical leadership and expertise for the
development and ongoing maintenance of EQAO I&IT server, network and related applications.
• server and network systems design, analysis, development and management methods, practices,
techniques, and analytical diagnostic hardware tools to forecast demand on server/network services,
capacity and performance; recommend server/network design changes necessary to optimize
performance; review and recommend systems standards; and plan and lead the development and
implementation of server/network development and upgrade projects.
• senior level expertise in building and supporting SMB type environments with knowledge of related
systems (e.g. Windows Server, Exchange, SQL, BES, Active Directory, GPO;s, Backup Exec, Routing
and Switching, Firewalls, VPN's, Virus and Security, IDS/IPS, TCP/IP, DHCP, DNS, Cisco IOS,
Juniper Junos), scripting and programming languages, and current applications (e.g. Microsoft server
products and virtualization technologies, Hyper-V and VMWare).
• applicable government legislation, policies, and directives to ensure that IT systems meet business
needs and conform to privacy, confidentiality and security legislation, acts and directives.
• cluster/ministry I&IT strategic plan, environment and standards to make recommendations and
decisions on ongoing and future server/network development, prepare technical specifications and
oversee installation, Implementation and testing of server/network systems, evaluate server/network
performance, develop systems documentation, and assess emergency technology and relevant
products.
• the EQAO mandate, business objectives, operations and priorities to recommend systems
development solutions which meeting business EQAO business needs/priorities.
• I&IT project management methodology to lead/oversee all phases of systems
development/enhancement projects from concept to implementation, and to lead project teams.
• I&IT security principles, methodologies, standards, processes and products as they apply to a large
I&IT environment to provide expertise in the development of EQAO I&IT security measures,
procedures and plans.
• cost benefit analysis methods and techniques to prepare business cases, conduct feasibility studies,
and prepare cost and resource estimates.
• methods and processes for the development and management of I & IT tracking and reporting
systems.
• government procurement and contract management policies/procedures to identify and oversee
infrastructure upgrades completed by external vendors, maintain service contracts for
hardware/software technology, and administer I&IT vendor selection and manage vendor contracts.

Skills :

The job requires:
• analytical and problem solving skills to assess EQAO's Information technology/systems needs and
provide technical leadership/expertise for the development of information technology network and
network solutions which are cost effective and effectively support/improve EQAO program/service
delivery.
• analytical and evaluation skills to assess design alternatives related to EQAO's business needs;
consolidate work of team on all aspects of feasibility studies; guide server/network systems design;
and develop recommendations on technology approach, efficiency/flexibility standards, costs, and
future development considerations.
• analytical skills to conceptualize approaches to address new business requirements and to
recommend new systems development techniques, software and technology for acquisition by EQAO.

• project planning/leadership and project management skills to lead/conduct systems analysis and
design projects; provide project guidance and direction to contractors and staff systems analysts, and
provide technical leadership for the design process for business, data and functional systems/network
models.
• oral communication and presentation skills to discuss and confirm client requirements on systems
development options and technical processes; provide ongoing specialist recommendations and
support to client management on server/network performance forecasts and development
requirements; present and/or discuss a variety of technical analysis, limitations and considerations in
non-technical terms while also communicating advantages and disadvantages of various options and
their Impact on EQAO's program/service delivery, and explain and define user needs to software
vendors/designers.
• written communication skills to prepare systems design documents, business cases, feasibility studies,
estimates, project reports, user manuals, technical systems documentation including protocols and
standards.
• consultation and advisory skills to provide expertise and specialist support to EQAO management in
determining their information technology needs and priorities, explain/illustrate alternate systems
solutions, present recommendations and rationale which Illustrates benefits, develops support for
proposals, train users, and resolve project issues and problems.

Freedom of Action :

Job requires working with government/EQAO I&IT policies, procedures and guidelines, and established
systems design, analysis and development principles, methods practices and standards. Job exercises
latitude in decision-making by leading the design, development and maintenance of the EQAO centralized server and network and all administrative tasks associated with their operation. Judgement is exercised by planning and leading/conducting projects for the analysis, forecasting, evaluation of new technologies/tools
to meet strategic/business needs of EQAO and to improve productivity, and for the design, development
and implementation of server/network solutions. Judgement is exercised by providing technical leadership
for all phases of systems/application development projects, and leading project staff and contractor
teams. The job exercises judgement by leading/conducting research on relevant I&IT
developments/trends and providing authoritative expertise, advice and recommendations to the Manager
on solution options to meet EQAO objectives. Job requires referring significant project/service issues (e.g.
need for additional resources and conflicting project priorities), and/or incidents outside of broad
policy/precedent to the Manager with recommendations. The Manager evaluates work based on the
quality of expertise, recommendations and project oversight, and by reviewing regular reports for
compliance with approved plans, policies and EQAO objectives.